The 2016 presidential election will be historic, for better or worse. By now, everyone has been inundated with the fact that Hillary Clinton will likely become the first ever female President. However, numerous other bits of trivia are also worth paying attention to.
1. Three in a Row
The Democrats are aiming to become the first political party to win three consecutive presidential elections since the Republicans in 1980, 1984, and 1988. The Democrats themselves have not accomplished this feat since winning five in a row from 1932 through 1948. That streak of five is the only time the Democrats have won three consecutive contests or more since the formation of the Republican Party.
2. The Curse of Ohio
Donald Trump could become the first Republican since 2004 to win the state of Ohio. However, a more dubious distinction is that Trump could very realistically become the first candidate since Richard Nixon in 1960 to win Ohio while also losing the presidential election. Even more unbelievably, Ohio has voted for the loser on only 9 of the 53 occasions in which it has voted: 1960, 1944, 1892, 1884, 1856, 1848, 1844, 1836, and 1824.
3. Third Parties Make Waves
Gary Johnson has enjoyed unprecedented success for a Libertarian Party candidate. He will almost certainly earn over 1% of the vote, thus shattering the LP record. However, another third party candidate who has also received attention has been Green Party candidate Jill Stein. If each receives one percent or better, this would be the first time two “third party” candidates have received as large a portion of the vote since 1980, when Independent John B. Anderson and Libertarian Ed Clark received 6.61% and 1.06%, respectively. That election itself marked the first such occurrence since 1948.
4. A Promotion is in Order
Hillary Clinton aims to become the first former Secretary of State to get elected President since James Buchanan in 1856. In addition to Buchanan, only Martin Van Buren, John Quincy Adams, James Monroe, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson have accomplished this. While only a few Secretaries of State have attempted runs at the White House, some have also done so before getting to the State Department (like current Secretary John Kerry).
5. Is Age Just a Number?
The age of the two major-party nominees has been thoroughly covered. Donald Trump is 70 years old, while Hillary Clinton is also 69. Therefore, Trump would be the oldest person ever elected to the Presidency, while Clinton would be the second-oldest to Ronald Reagan. However, a less prominent fact is that Mike Pence is 57 and Tim Kaine is 58. Therefore, no matter who wins the election, it would mark the first time a ticket consisting of two non-incumbent candidates age 57 or older were elected at any point in American history.